Iraq urges more international support ahead of parliamentary polls

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri has stressed the need for more international support ahead of the country’s parliamentary polls, slated for May 12.

Jabouri made the remarks during a meeting Tuesday with U.S. Ambassador in Baghdad Douglas Silliman, his media office said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by Baghdad Today.

According to the statement, the two sides discussed the latest security and political developments in Iraq and the region, as well as means of boosting bilateral cooperation and coordination in the field of counter-terrorism.

“It is necessary to mobilize all international efforts to ensure the success of May’s parliamentary elections, a move that precedes the reconstruction of Iraq,” Jabouri stressed.

Praising the role played by the U.S. in the country’s fight against terrorism, Jabouri said the reconstruction of Iraq will “help put an end to the chapter of terrorism in Iraq.”

Silliman, for his part, reiterated his country’s keenness on standing by Iraq in the fight against terrorist groups.

The Iraqi parliamentary elections will decide the 329 members of the Council of Representatives who will in turn elect the Iraqi president and prime minister.

The elections were originally scheduled for September 2017, but were delayed due to the country’s fight against Islamic State, which ended in December 2017 with the recapture of their remaining territories.

Iraq declared victory over Islamic State in December with the help of a US-led alliance, having retaken all the territory captured by the extremists in 2014 and 2015.